Fran Drescher is a women's health advocate and a public diplomacy envoy for the State Department.

(CNN) – Is it time to get ready for the Nanny state?

Actress Fran Drescher - who asked last year to be considered as a possible replacement for Hillary Clinton as New York's junior senator – said Tuesday that she's weighing a bid for public office sometime in the next three years.

"I feel very privileged to be able to articulate my positions and my opinions on a myriad of subjects, and now I've been encouraged by many people in the general public, as well as Democratic funders and high level elected officials on both sides of the party line to seriously consider running," the former star of "The Nanny" told reporters at the National Press Club in Washington.

"And so, now I have to decide whether or not I want to run and that would be for 2010 or 2012. And, you know, that's yet to be decided."

The native New Yorker said that she had put herself in the mix for the secretary of State's old Senate seat to draw attention to her work as a health activist. Since a bout with uterine cancer, she has become an advocate for better health care for women. Drescher was named a State Department public envoy on the issue last year, and traveled to Eastern Europe to raise awareness of the issue.

(CNN) - Five months after Election Day, the Democratic National Committee has a message for Republican Norm Coleman.

“Enough is enough,” a female voice says in a new DNC radio ad that is set to begin airing in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

The release of the ad comes one day after a three-judge court in Minnesota ruled against Coleman in his post-election contest. Coleman filed a lawsuit in an effort to close a narrow lead Democrat Al Franken held after a recount in their razor-thin race Senate race. Coleman’s lawyer said Tuesday that the Republican plans to appeal the ruling to the state’s highest court.

The DNC ad encourages radio listeners to call Coleman – even providing his phone number - and tell him “to stop putting his political ambition ahead of what is right for Minnesota.”

“Al Franken won the election, the recount and now the legal challenge where his lead actually grew,” Tim Kaine, Democratic National Chairman and governor of Virginia.

“It's time for Norm Coleman to concede and for Al Franken to be sworn in as the next U.S. Senator from Minnesota.”

The new ad will air on news talk radio stations in the Twin Cities metro area, according to the DNC

The RNC has a Web page that allows supporters to mail virtual tea bags to four leading Democrats.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – If Republican National Chairman Michael Steele gets his wish, four top Democrats may be getting a lot of unsolicited e-mail messages on Tax Day.

In an e-mail message sent to supporters Tuesday evening, Steele encourages supporters of the Republican Party to send virtual tea bags to President Obama, Vice President Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California or Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

“I don't know about you,” Steele writes in the message, “but I don't believe there is anything patriotic about giving more of your hard-earned money to the government to bankroll the liberal Democrats' agenda.”

“Let them know enough is enough,” adds Steele.

The message contains a link to a Web page that allows users to pick Obama, Biden, Pelosi or Reid – or any combination of the four - as recipients of a message. Users also have their pick of four different virtual tea bags that will appear on virtual postcards generated by the site on their behalf. The postcard includes a written message that lets Democrats know the virtual tea bag is being sent “to protest your plans to raise taxes on every American this Tax Day.”

Steele’s message, which also seeks donations to the RNC, comes one day before the April 15 deadline for filing federal tax returns and also the date of several ‘tea party’ events planned across the country. The gatherings are an effort to protest the Obama administration’s policies on taxes, borrowing and spending by the federal government.

The first lady also gave a special mention to the "excellence" of the Secret Service, who operate under the DHS, for the safety of her family.

"Every day I see how much time they spend away from their own families to keep mine safe," she said. "And it has been an honor to get to know each and every one of them throughout the course of the campaign, and our day-to-day interactions."

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will name a 'border czar' on Wednesday to help deal with the drug cartel violence that has exploded along the U.S.-Mexico border.

(CNN) – Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will name a "border czar" on Wednesday to help deal with the drug cartel violence that has exploded along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to several administration officials.

The officials said Napolitano will name Alan Bersin, a former Justice Department official, to the newly-created post.

The move comes on the eve of President Obama's first visit to Mexico since being sworn into office. He will be in Mexico on Thursday to meet with President Calderon on his way to Trinidad for the Summit of the Americas.

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from The Best Political Team.

(CNN) – In the latest installment of CNN=Politics Daily: President Obama issued a part progress-report, part-pep talk Tuesday in Washington. The president sees "glimmers of hope" for the US economy, but warns that we're "not out of the woods just yet." CNN White House Correspondent Dan Lothian looks at the strategy behind the speech.

Also: Does the president have a clear plan for solving the country's economic problems? CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider looks at the latest numbers in a new poll.

Plus: New York Gov. David Paterson is on the brink of making a major announcement concerning gay marriage. CNN's Mary Snow has the breaking story.

Meanwhile: Tensions are growing as North Korea vows to restart its disabled reactor and walk away from the negotiating table. CNN White House Correspondent Dan Lothian looks at what the White House is calling "provocative threats."

At the same time, the Obama administration may be fine-tuning its approach to Iran's nuclear program and weighing some sweeping changes. CNN's Brian Todd looks at the enormous potential ramifications.

Finally: Pork opponents brace themselves for the annual "pig book": CNN Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar gets her hand son the latest edition of an annual publication that takes a closer look at how Congress is using your taxpayer dollars.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Bo the Portuguese water dog made his White House debut under cloudy skies Tuesday afternoon, spending several minutes taking his
new family on a lively romp over the South Lawn with frequent stops for hearty sniffs at his new surroundings.

Bo landed on all four feet at his fourth home in his six short months of life, fulfilling President Barack Obama's campaign promise to get his daughters a dog in return for all the time he spent on the road during the long presidential fight.

"He's a star. He's got star quality," the president said of the black curly pup with white front feet and chest, and a lion-cut tail.

The Obamas ended up with a pure-bred dog, despite the president's preference for a mutt, largely because of 10-year-old Malia's allergies - Portuguese water dogs don't shed - and because of opportunity.

(CNN) - Did John McCain snub Sarah Palin during an appearance Monday on NBC's The Tonight Show?

That's what some pro-Palin bloggers and other political observers claim after the former GOP presidential candidate left out his former running mate when naming five governors who he thought were in position to lead the Republican Party.

Among the positive indicators Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke mentioned were recent upticks in home sales and new home construction.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday he sees "tentative signs" that the economy's dramatic decline is easing, but that full recovery won't come until the financial system is stabilized.

"Recently we have seen tentative signs that the sharp decline in economic activity may be slowing," Bernanke told students and faculty of Morehouse College in Atlanta.

Bernanke said "a leveling out of economic activity is the first step toward recovery." But an economic recovery will not be sustainable "without a stabilization of our financial system and credit markets," he added.

Among the positive indicators Bernanke mentioned were recent upticks in home sales and new home construction. He also pointed to improvements in consumer spending, notably sales of new vehicles.

A New York lawmaker tells CNN that the state's governor will soon announce plans to introduce a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the state.

NEW YORK (CNN) - Gov. David Paterson will announce plans Thursday to introduce same-sex marriage legislation in the state assembly, according to an assemblyman who was asked to be present for the announcement.

"The governor's office called me and asked if I would stand with the governor," said Micah Z. Kellner, a state assemblyman from Manhattan. "I said I will be thrilled to stand with the governor when he makes this announcement."

Paterson has expressed support for gay marriage in the past but when asked Tuesday, he would not confirm details of an announcement.

"There is clearly a problem in that those individuals who are gay or lesbian who would live in a civil union are still not entitled to somewhere between 1,250 and 1,300 civil protections" available to married couple, Paterson said. "... We would like to try to address that at some point in the near future."